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Provost Academy South Carolina awarded diplomas to the seventh graduating class in the school’s history on June 17 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. One hundred twenty-eight students were awarded diplomas, with more expected at the close of the summer school session.

Specializing in the S.T.E.M. program, (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Provost Academy was established in 2009, as one of the first public charter online high schools in the state.

Robert “Donnie” Pritchard, “Student of the Year”, gave the welcome speech; Milner Martin, Salutatorian, gave the Farewell Speech to the graduates; and Alexandra McKibbin, number three in the graduating class, led everyone in the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem.

Boyd, a Northern High School graduate who went on to earn degrees at Howard and Georgetown universities, also asked the graduates and their guests to take out their cell phones and to take selfies to remember the moment. “This picture will be a moment in time to revisit in the future to remind yourself of where you’re going in life,” Boyd said during the graduation ceremony held at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium on the N.C. Central University campus.

Thirty-seven students graduated from the Performance Learning Center (PLC) and another 12 from the Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academy (MJBA). As is the tradition for both programs, significant people in the students’ lives accompanied them across the stage to receive their diplomas while short student bios and future plans were read by program officials.

Many of the graduates have plans to attend Durham Technical Community College to gain work skills or course credits to transfer to a four-year college. Six of the graduates earned enough high school credits to graduate a year early.

Senteria Trueluck was the Class of 2016 valedictorian and Greta Marie West the salutatorian.

Boyd, who has spoken at Microsoft, Howard University and other prestigious companies and universities, said being able to return home to speak to Tuesday’s graduates was the most rewarding.

“This is by far the most meaningful opportunity I’ve had to speak,” Boyd said. “This is the first time that I’ve actually spoken in the city that I’m from.” Boyd said Durham is the city that made him. But he warned that it’s also a city that can deal a person significant setbacks.

He urged the graduates must think deeply about their futures. “Many of the adults in your life are unhappy with who they have become,” Boyd said. “They’re unhappy with what they do every day. It’s not because they’re bad people, it’s because they value the opinions of others.”

He offered the graduates a cheat-code to help them navigate life after graduation. “Don’t focus so much on what you want to do, focus on who you want to become,” Boyd said.

“No one can choose your destiny, but you stay strong and no matter what they say about you, push yourself to succeed,” Cary Martin said.

Principal Donna Henry welcomed and thanked the parents and guardians of the graduates for all of their hard work and involvement in the students' lives.

“The Class of 2016 are excellent examples of role models, mentors, and have set the bar high,” she said. “Yes, they have experienced tough times, but those moments are the very thing that has shaped them to the strong, independent individuals they are today. I know the Cass of 2016 will do great things for the world and their communities.”

School faculty member Jamie Wolverton introduced salutatorian Matayzia Hughes. Wolverton had trouble holding back tears during her introduction.

“From your current location, insert greatness as the destination of your GPS,” Hughes said. “I do not mean global positioning satellite, I mean GPS as in Great Problem Survivor. There will be great obstacles which we must overcome, but with sheer determination we will all make it.”

Valedictorian Princess Tucker expressed how making an effort to talk with the dean of students on several occasions helped change her life around.

“Previously, I attended Theodore Roosevelt Career & Technical Academy as a seventh- and eighth-grader,” Tucker said. “I personally was a mess. I tended to fight and act buck wild on a daily basis. However, when Edison Learning brought along Theodore Roosevelt College & Career Academy, I became a better individual.”

Tucker closed her speech with some final words of wisdom.

“You owe it to yourself to be the best that you can be because when you are not your best, others are less than they should or could be.”

The Norfolk (VA) Public School Board commissioned an independent study of the District’s Open Campus / Magic Johnson Bridgescape Program. The report, conducted by Old Dominion University’s Darden College of Education, and the Center for Educational Partnerships determined that “overall the program is a success.”

Below are key findings from the Formative Evaluation of the Norfolk Public Schools’ Open Campus High School Program:

The Norfolk Public Schools’ Open Campus High School (OCHS) program is intended to assist school drop-outs and overage-for-grade students earn a regular high school diploma in an alternative setting.

OCHS offers two half-day sessions per day, during which students primarily participate in the Magic Johnson Bridgescape program, which provides computer-mediated and small group instruction. The Norfolk program is unique among its counterparts nationally in that the Bridgescape programs in other cities do not serve overage-for-grade students.

The program provides a caring and supportive environment for students.

Over 90% of students reported that they like attending OCHS, respect their teachers, and believe that their teachers care about them.

The program was clearly most successful in serving students who were fairly close to achieving graduation at the time they dropped out of school. The students were also more motivated to engage in the program as evidenced by higher lesson completion rates.

The core program model is responsive to the needs of the students being served.

Students were motivated to enroll in the program for a number of reasons.

They clearly desired a regular high school diploma versus other alternatives such as a GED.

They strongly valued being able to work at their own pace, getting 1:1 assistance from teachers, flexible scheduling, and being able to see their own progress.

Students mentioned community-based recruitment, program publicity on local news, and family encouragement as factors that influenced their decision to enroll.

Individualization of learning and program structure provided important and effective supports for students. Self-pacing, intensive academic support from teachers, scaffolded curricula, careful progress monitoring, and selective curricular focus were identified as effective strategies for individualizing learning.

Helpful structural elements included flexible scheduling, a small environment, and provision of wrap-around services. Students exhibited positive self-expectations, including a strong expectation that they could indeed graduate and positive and realistic perceptions of their own progress in the program.